The present embodiments relate to a large display for the representation of medical images and to a medical display system.
In the context of medical examinations in hospitals, a plurality of representations or images are used to register the body part under examination. A plurality of different perspectives can be represented, for example, by a medical imaging method. Various imaging methods or modalities (e.g. X-ray, computed tomography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance tomography, video, scattering of laser beams, etc.) are also combined to obtain as much information as possible concerning medical conditions in a patient. A plurality of displayed images are used when images that are recorded under different conditions (e.g. before and after administration of contrast agents) are superimposed. The plurality of displayed images are used to obtain a representation having maximum contrast (difference method).
During a medical examination, different medical images are represented on individual dedicated image playback devices. Accordingly, a separate image playback device is required for each video (graphics card) output interface of a medical imaging system. For example, in X-ray system examination workstations, eight or even more image playback devices are currently required in the examination room, including color displays for electrocardiogram (ECG) and ultrasound.
A solution including a multiplicity of displays is confusing, inflexible, and not easily scalable. The publication “New Display Solutions for the Image-Centric Era of Healthcare” by S. Bonfiglio and L. Albani in SID Symposium Digest of Technical Papers—May 2007 —Volume 38, Issue 1, pp. 123-126 discloses a plurality of medical images being represented on a large display in order to get by with one display per examination workstation. The publication describes an input device by which images that must be output on a large display can be selected from a multiplicity of possible medical images. The input device (tablet PC) has a visual output that includes a first zone including selectable images and a second zone showing the images that are represented on the large display. By moving an image from the first zone into the second zone, the image is selected and its representation on the large display is changed.
The use of a large display has greater risks in the event of a failure. In the case of representation on separate monitors, the simultaneous failure of a plurality of monitors due to a defect is very improbable, and therefore the majority of the images usually remain available. Specifically in the case of medical interventions it is of primary importance that faults do not cause the intervention to be interrupted or even abandoned. The use of a large display is critical insofar as the failure of the now sole display would mean that there are no longer any images available which enable the examination or treatment to be continued.